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2017 Supreme(Mad) 1077
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
R. SUBBIAH, M.S. RAMESH, JJ.
P.R. Ganesh - Appellant
Versus
K. Latika - Respondent
Civil Miscellaneous Appeal No. 2733 of 2016 and C.M.P. No. 19734 of 2016
Decided on : 01-06-2017
Advocate Appeared:
For the Appellant :Mrs. Chitra Sampath, Senior Advocate for Mr. T.S. Baskaran
For the Respondent: Mr. P.B. Ramanujam
The financial capability of the parties and the purpose of maintenance under Section 24 of The Hindu Marriage Act should be considered for determining the entitlement to interim maintenance.
Headnote:
Maintenance - Hindu Marriage Act - Section 24 - Summary
Fact of the Case:
The appellant filed for dissolution of marriage on the grounds of cruelty and desertion. The respondent, seeking maintenance, alleged insufficient income and filed an application under Section 24 of The Hindu Marriage Act. The Family Court awarded interim maintenance and litigation expenses to the respondent.
Finding of the Court:
The Court found that the respondent's financial capability to maintain herself was not adequately considered by the Family Court, and the reasoning for awarding interim maintenance was legally unsustainable.
Issues: The main issue was whether the respondent was entitled to interim maintenance under Section 24 of The Hindu Marriage Act, considering her financial capacity to support herself.
Ratio Decidendi: The Court held that the purpose of awarding maintenance under Section 24 is to provide financial support when there is no independent income to maintain oneself during matrimonial proceedings. The financial status of the parties should be considered only for fixing the quantum of maintenance, not for matching their financial status.
Final Decision: The Court set aside the order for interim maintenance and allowed the Civil Miscellaneous Appeal, directing the Family Court to dispose of the original petition within four months.
R. SUBBIAH, J
The present appeal has been filed as against the Fair and Decreetal order dated 18.10.2016 passed in I.A. No. 922 of 2016 in O.P. No. 3651 of 2014 whereby the Principal Family Court, Chennai has awarded a sum of Rs.10,000/- as monthly interim maintenance and Rs.5,000/- towards litigation expenses in the interim application filed by the respondent herein during the pendency of Original Petition filed by the appellant for dissolution of marriage on the grounds of cruelty and desertion.
2. It is the case of the respondent/wife that the appellant is a Doctor by profession and presently he is employed as Assistant Professor in Tamil Nadu Dental College and earning more than Rs.1 lakh as monthly salary. The father of the appellant is a retired District Judge and his mother retired as Deputy Registrar from the services of the High Court, Madras and both are receiving pension. As far as the respondent/wife is concerned, it is stated that she is working as Head of the Department (HoD), Management Department in Dr. M.G.R. Janaki Arts College for Women, Adyar, Chennai and earning less than Rs.30,000/- as monthly salary. According to the respondent/wife, since the salary that she is earning is highly insufficient, she require maintenance from the appellant. Therefore, she has filed I.A. No. 922 of 2016 in OP No. 3651 of 2014 under Section 24 of The Hindu Marriage Act seeking to direct the appellant herein to pay a sum of Rs.40,000/- as monthly maintenance and Rs.25,000/- towards litigation expenses.
3. The case of the respondent/wife, as putforth in I.A. No. 922 of 2016, was resisted by the appellant by filing a detailed counter stating that the respondent is a holder of M.B.A. with M.Phil., and she is a Post Graduate Faculty employed as Head of the Department (HoD), Management Department in Dr. M.G.R. Janaki Arts College for Women, Chennai and she has suppressed her actual monthly salary. According to the appellant, at the time of marriage, he had presented 10 sovereigns of gold haaram, 2 sovereigns of black bead for Thali and they are in possession of the respondent/ wife. It is further stated in the counter that the respondent herself is in possession of 100 sovereigns of gold jewels presented at the time of the marriage and she had kept those jewels in her personal locker in Indian Bank, T. Nagar Branch. It is further stated that the respondent is having her own property which is worth few crores besides that she has got sufficient funds in the bank deposits and she is also lending money and earning interest. Further, the father of the respondent retired as an Officer in Pay and Accounts Office and the terminal benefits of her father are retained by the respondent. Similarly, the mother of the respondent retired as a Teacher and the respondent is in possession of the service benefits paid to her mother. According to the appellant, the respondent suppressed all these particulars at the time of filing the application seeking interim maintenance. Thus, according to the appellant, the respondent is in possession of sufficient money and she is capable of maintaining herself. Therefore, he prayed for dismissal of the application for interim maintenance.
4. The learned Principal Family Judge, Chennai, has allowed the application filed by the respondent in part and directed the appellant to pay a sum of Rs.10,000/- per month as interim maintenance and Rs.5,000/- as litigation expenses on the reasoning that the income of the respondent is less than the half of the income of the appellant and therefore, considering the status of the parties and their income, to keep the standard of the respondent to the level of the appellant, the respondent would need further amount towards her maintenance.
5. Assailing the reasons assigned by the Family Court, Chennai while granting maintenance to the respondent/wife, the learned Senior counsel appearing for the appellant would contend that admittedly, the respondent is working as Head of t
